The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)'s Customer Protection Regulations 2023 (the "Regulations") governs various aspects of interactions between customer and Distribution Companies (DisCos) within the industry. Although the primary aim of the Regulations is customer protection, the Regulations also seeks to balance the rights of the customers against the interest of the DisCos. This is evident in various provisions of the Regulation including those pertaining to the estimation and review of electricity bills.
Under the Regulations, all DisCos are mandated to undertake routine meter readings within their areas of operation at least once every 3 months. In exceptional circumstances, if a DisCo is unable to perform the routine meter reading at a customer's premises, it may estimate the electricity consumption of that customer. Such estimation shall be based on the customer's electricity usage over the preceding 3 months. However, where the customer has no meter, the DisCo shall issue a bill estimating the customer's electricity consumption using a method approved by NERC.
It is important to note that every customer has the right to request a review of their electricity bills by their respective DisCos. Upon a request for review and pending its determination, a customer shall be required to pay a sum equal to the average amount of bills charged to the customer at the supply address over the preceding 12 months.
Where the reviewed bill is deemed accurate, the customer shall pay the balance outstanding. Otherwise, the customer may request for a meter test according to the Metering Code. The meter test may be conducted either by the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) or any authorised test centre. Where the test confirms that the meter complies with the Metering Code, the customer shall pay the outstanding amount on the bill. However, where the review indicates that the bill is inaccurate, the DisCo shall amend the bill accordingly.
In the event that a customer has been overcharged, the DisCo shall notify the customer in writing within 5 working days of detecting the error. The DisCo shall also credit the overcharged amount to the customer's next bill. However, where the DisCo had either undercharged or failed to charge the customer, it shall notify the customer in writing of the error and the undercharged or uncharged amount.
If the undercharge is the fault of the DisCo through its failure to bill or correctly bill the customer, it may recover the exact undercharged amount for the established period which shall not exceed 3 months. In all other cases, the DisCo may recover the undercharged amount for which has accrued during the 6 months prior to the date the customer was notified. The DisCo shall offer the customer a payment arrangement for the undercharged amount and shall not inflate the amount to be paid. Finally, such payment arrangement shall be for a period not less than the period within which the undercharge occurred.
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